I paraphrased this myself from the NKJV and I freely give it to anyone who would like to print, copy and disperse it. Shalom in Messiah Yeshua (Jesus Christ) !
Ellen C Maze
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THE BOOK OF ESTHER
(a.k.a. The Megillah)
King Achashverosh had a huge kingdom that spanned 127 provinces. One year he gave a 180-day banquet for all the important people in his kingdom. When that was over, he gave a 7-day feast for all the commoners to attend. On the last day of this second party, the king called Vashti, his queen, to come before him and all his friends so that he could show off her beauty. She refused and he became exceedingly angry and embarrassed. Then the king asked his wise men what should be done to her since she disobeyed the king.
Prince Memucan told him, “What Queen Vashti has done is not only wrong against the king, but also will cause trouble in the whole kingdom. Once the word gets out, every woman will disregard her husband’s wishes and there will be chaos in every family. You should issue a royal decree that Vashti is never again to enter the presence of the king. Also let the king choose a better woman to be queen. This way, all the women everywhere will respect their husbands properly.”
The king agreed and did what was proposed. He sent dispatches to all parts of the kingdom proclaiming in each people’s tongue that every man should be ruler over his own household. Then the king’s civil council proposed, “Let a search be made for beautiful young virgins for the king and bring all of them to the harem at the citadel of Susa. Let them be placed under the care of the king’s eunuch Hegai. Then let the girl who pleases the king be queen instead of Vashti.” This advice appealed to the king and he followed it.
Mordecai lived in the citadel of Susa. He was a Jew of the Tribe of Benjamin. Mordecai had a cousin named Hadassah, whom he raised as his own child as her parents had died. This girl was also known as Esther and she was very beautiful.
When the king’s order and edict had been proclaimed, Esther, along with many girls, was brought to the citadel of Susa and put under the care of Hegai. Hegai took special interest in Esther immediately and began giving her beauty treatments and special food, as well as the best place in the harem. Esther had not revealed that she was Jewish because Mordecai had forbidden her to do so.
One by one, the girls went before the king. When Esther’s turn came up, the king loved Esther more than any of the other women. He happily made her queen instead of Vashti, and he gave a great banquet in her honor. And Esther continued to keep her nationality a secret from all.
During this time, Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate, and he found out about a plot to assassinate the king. He told Queen Esther, who in turn reported it to the king, giving credit to Mordecai. And when the report was investigated and found to be true, the two traitorous officials were hanged on the gallows. All this was recorded in the book of the annals in the presence of the king.
After these events, King Achashverosh honored Haman the Agagite, giving him a seat of honor higher than that of all the other nobles. All the king’s officials knelt down to Haman, for the king had commanded this concerning him. But Mordecai would not kneel down. Every day, the royal officials at the king’s gate asked Mordecai, “Why do you disobey the king’s command?” And every day he refused to comply. So they told Haman about it to see what he would do because Mordecai was a Jew.
When Haman saw that Mordecai would not kneel down, he got so angry that he decided to devise a plot to kill not just Mordecai, but all of the Jews. Haman had lots cast in his presence to decide what month the Jews would be destroyed and the lot fell on the month of Adar.
Then Haman said to King Achashverosh, “There is a race of people scattered throughout your kingdom whose customs are different from everyone else’s and they do not obey the king’s laws. It is not in the king’s best interest to tolerate them. You should issue a decree to destroy them, and I will put 10,000 talents of silver into the royal treasury for the men who do the deed.” Trusting Haman, the king agreed but told him, “Keep the money, and do with the people as you please.”
Soon after, dispatches were sent throughout the kingdom with the order to destroy, kill and annihilate all the Jews—young and old, women and children—on a single day, the 13th day of Adar, and to plunder all their goods. A copy of the text of the edict was issued as law in every province and made known to the people of every nationality so they would be ready for that day.
When Mordecai learning of all that had been done, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the city, wailing loudly and bitterly. In every province to which the edict and order of the king came, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, weeping and wailing.
When Esther’s maids came and told her about Mordecai, she was in great distress. She sent new clothes for him to put on, but he would not accept them. Then Esther ordered them to find out what was troubling Mordecai.
So the eunuch went out to Mordecai and listened to the entire story. Mordecai said that he should urge Esther to plead for mercy from the king to not destroy the Jewish people. Once Esther heard this, she told the eunuch to go back and tell Mordecai that she could not approach the king without being summoned because it was against the law.
When Esther’s words were reported to Mordecai, he sent back this answer: “Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?”
Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: “Go. Gather together all the Jews who are in Susa and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for 3 days, night or day. I and my maids will do the same. After 3 days, I will go to the king even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.” So Mordecai went away and carried out all of Esther’s instructions.
After her 3-day fast, Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the palace, facing the throne. The king was sitting on his royal throne and when he saw her standing in the court, he was pleased with her, and he held out to her the golden scepter that was in his hand. So Esther approached and touched the tip of the scepter.
Then the king asked, “What is it, Queen Esther? What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be given you.”
“If it pleases the king,” Esther replied, “let the king, together with Haman, come today to a banquet I have prepared for him.”
“Bring Haman at once,” the king said, “so that we may do as Esther asks.” So the king and Haman went to the banquet Esther had prepared. As they were drinking wine, the king again asked Esther, “Now what is your petition? It will be given to you. And what is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be granted.”
Esther replied, “My petition and my request is this: please let the king and Haman come tomorrow to the banquet I will prepare for them. Then I will answer the king’s question.”
Haman went out that day happy and in high spirits. But when he saw Mordecai at the king’s gate and observed that he neither rose nor showed fear in his presence, he was filled with rage. Nevertheless, Haman restrained himself and went home.
Calling together his wife and friends, Haman boasted to them about his vast wealth, his many sons, and all the ways the king had honored him and how he had elevated him above the other nobles and officials. “And that’s not all,” Haman added, “I’m the only person Queen Esther invited to accompany the king to the banquet she gave. And she has invited me along with the king tomorrow. But all this gives me no satisfaction as long as I see that Jew Mordecai sitting at the king’s gate.”
His wife and friends said to him, “Have a gallows built, 75 feet high, and in the morning ask the king to have Mordecai hanged on it. Then go with the king to the dinner and be happy.” This suggestion delighted Haman, and he had the gallows built.
That night, the king could not sleep, so he ordered the book of the record to be brought in and read to him. It was found recorded there that Mordecai had exposed the two officers who had conspired to assassinate King Achashverosh.
“What honor and recognition has Mordecai received for this?” the king asked. “Nothing has been done for him,” his attendants answered.
The king said, “Who is in the court?” (Haman had just entered the outer court of the palace to speak to the king about hanging Mordecai on the gallows). His attendants answered him, “Haman is standing in the court.”
“Bring him in,” the king ordered. When Haman entered, the king asked him, “What should be done for the man the king delights to honor?”
Now Haman thought the king was going to honor him so he answered the king, “For the man the king delights to honor, dress him in the king’s best robes, put him on one of the kings best horses, with the royal crest upon them, and have one of the king’s most noble princes parade him through the streets of the city proclaiming, ‘This is what is done for the man the king delights to honor!’”
“Go at once,” the king commanded Haman. “Get the robe and the horse and do just as you have suggested for Mordecai the Jew, who sits at the king’s gate. Do not neglect anything you have recommended.”
So Haman robed Mordecai, and led him on horseback through the city streets, proclaiming before him, “This is what is done for the man the king delights to honor!”
Afterward Mordecai returned to the king’s gate. But Haman rushed home, numb with grief and told his wife and friends everything that had happened to him. His advisers said to him, “Since Mordecai is Jewish, you cannot beat him—you will be ruined!” While they were still talking with him, the king’s eunuchs arrived and hurried Haman away to Esther’s banquet.
So the king and Haman went to dine with Queen Esther, and as they were drinking wine, the king asked, “Queen Esther, what is your petition? It will be given you. What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be granted.”
Then Queen Esther answered, “If I have found favor with you, O king, grant me my life—this is my petition. And spare my people—this is my request. For I and my people have been sold for destruction and slaughter and annihilation.”
King Achashverosh asked Queen Esther, “Who is he? Where is the man who has dared to do such a thing?”
Esther said, “The adversary and enemy is this vile Haman.” Then Haman was terrified before the king and queen. The king got up in a rage and went out into the palace garden. But Haman, realizing that the king had already decided his fate, stayed behind to beg Queen Esther for his life. Just as the king returned from the palace garden, to the banquet hall, Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was reclining.
The king exclaimed, “Will he even molest the queen while she is with me in the house?” As soon as the word left the king’s mouth, the guards covered Haman’s face. Then one of the eunuchs said, “A gallows 75 feet high stands by Haman’s house. He had it made for Mordecai, who spoke up to help the king.” The king said, “Hang him on it!” So they hanged Haman on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the king’s fury subsided.
That same day, King Achashverosh gave Queen Esther the estate of Haman, the enemy of the Jews. And Mordecai was given the king’s signet ring, which the king had reclaimed from Haman. And Esther appointed him over Haman’s estate.
“If it pleases the king,” she said, “and if he thinks it is the right thing to do, overrule the evil plan of Haman to destroy the Jews in all the king’s provinces. I cannot bear to see disaster and destruction befall my people.”
King Achashverosh replied to Queen Esther and to Mordecai the Jew, “Write a new edict that grants the Jews in every city the right to assemble and protect themselves; to destroy, kill and annihilate any armed force that might attack them and their women and children; and to plunder the property of their enemies. The appointed day is the 13th of Adar. And forward it to every province of the king.”
Mordecai left the king’s presence wearing royal garments of fine linen. And the city of Susa held a joyous celebration. For the Jews it was a time of happiness and joy, gladness and honor. In every province and in every city, wherever the edict of the king wet, there was joy and gladness among the Jews, with feasting and celebrating. And many people of other nationalities became Jews because the fear of the Jews had seized them.
When the day came around, the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them, but now the tables were turned and the Jews got the upper hand over those who hated them. No one could stand against them, because the people of all other nationalities were afraid of them. And all the king’s nobles and the king’s administrators helped the Jews, because fear of Mordecai had seized them. Mordecai was prominent in the palace; his reputation spread throughout the kingdom, and he became very powerful.
The Jews struck down all their enemies with the sword. In the citadel of Susa, the Jews killed 500 men. They also killed the 10 sons of Haman. But they did not lay their hands on the plunder. The number of those slain in the citadel of Susa was reported to the king that same day. The king said to Queen Esther, “The Jews have killed 500 men and the 10 sons of Haman in the citadel of Susa. Now what is your petition? It will be given to you. What is your request? It will also be granted.”
“If it please the king,” Esther answered, “give the Jews in Susa permission to caerry out this day’s edict tomorrow also, and let Haman’s 10 sons be hanged on the gallows.” So the king commanded that this be done. The Jews in Susa came together on the 14th day of Adar, and they put to death in Susa 300 men, but they did not lay their hands on the plunder.
Meanwhile, the remainder of the Jews who were in the king;s provinces also assembled to protect themselves and get relief from their enemies. They killed 75,000 of them but did not lay their hands on the plunder. This happened on the 13th day pf Adar, and on the 14th day, they rested and made it a day of feasting and joy.
Mordecai recorded these events and he sent letters to all the Jews throughout the provinces of King Achashverosh, near and far, to have them celebrate annually the 14th and 15th days of Adar as the time when the Jews got relief from their enemies, and as the month when their sorrow was turned to joy and their morning into a day of celebration. He wrote them to observe the days as days of feasting and joy and giving presents of food to one another and gifts to the poor.
Haman had plotted against the Jews to destroy them and had cast the pur (that is, the lot) for their ruin and destruction. But when the plot came to the king’s attention, he issued written orders that the evil scheme Haman had devised against the Jews should come back unto his own head, and it did. So these days are called Purim, from the word Pur. And all of the Jews took it upon themselves to establish the custom that they and their descendants and all who join them should obseve these two days every year, in the way prescribed and at the time appointed. And these days of Purim should never cease to be celebrated by the Jews, nor should the memory of them die out among their descendants.
WHY DOES THIS MATTER TO ME, You may ask? Well…If God had not rescued the Jewish people through Esther and Mordecai, there never would have been a Mary…and a Jesus! Aren’t we happy for Purim now?! THANK YOU LORD !
